The latest trend at Asian restaurants, flavorful lettuce wraps make a great appetizer or main dish.

    Ingredients:

    * 1 head iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves (whichever you prefer)

    * Sauce:

    * 1 tablespoon soy sauce

    * 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

    * 1 tablespoon dry sherry

    * 1 teaspoon sugar

    * Remaining Ingredients:

    * 1 tablespoon sesame oil

    * 1 slice ginger, minced

    * 1 garlic clove, minced

    * 2 green onions, chopped

    * 1 lb meat from chicken breasts or sliced white chicken meat

    * 1 red pepper, seeded and diced

    * 1 can water chestnuts, rinsed in warm running water and chopped

    * 1 stalk celery, diced

    * 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

    Preparation:

    Wash the lettuce, dry, and separate the leaves. Set aside.
 
    Mix together the sauce ingredients. Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry until the garlic and ginger are aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
 
    Add the red pepper, water chestnuts, and celery to the frying pan. Add the sauce ingredients and cook at medium heat, Give the cornstarch/water mixture a quick restir and add to the sauce, stirring to thicken. Add the chicken back into the wok. Cook for 2 - 3 more minutes, stirring, to heat through and finish cooking the chicken.

    Lay out a lettuce leaf and spoon a heaping teaspoon of the chicken and vegetable/sauce mixture into the middle. The lettuce wraps are designed to be eaten "taco-style," with the lettuce/chicken mixture folded into a package. Continue with the remainder of the chicken and lettuce leaves. Serve.
 
    Variations: Try substituting different vegetables, or using one of the many stir-fry sauces that are now on the market in place of the sauce.
Lettuce Wraps Recipe Copyright ©2000 by Rhonda Parkinson. All rights reserved.

    Nutritional Breakdown for Lettuce Wraps (based on 3 servings and using boneless, skinless chicken breasts) Each serving contains: Calories 254, 16 g Carbohydrates, 31 g Protein, 7 g Total Fat, (5 g Monounsaturated Fat, 2 g Polyunsaturated Fat, 1 g Saturated Fat), 70 mg Cholesterol, 5 g Fibre, 493 mg Sodium, 801 mg Potassium.